Week 6
Rick Singer's childhood friend, Cheryl describes him as someone who was always smiling, helping others, having the gift of gab, and known as the happy guy, as well as seeing him as a salesman. Cheryl states that Singer and his family are good people, but they were not wealthy. Singer and his family lived in a small townhouse surrounded by large homes and wealthy people. Cheryl also states that Singer was a determined individual and recalls how dedicated and aggressive he was once when he decided to lose weight. Cheryl went on to say that Singer worried about not being able to pay for college, and that he would often say to her when discussing lack of wealth "that's not going to be me." Although Cheryl had memories of Singer, there were few others who admitted remembering who Singer was, including those whom he played football with during all four years of high school. Cheryl says that she believes that Rick has no respect for the parents of those involved with the scandal, wanting the wealth so badly, and enjoying the attention that came with it she believes that somewhere along the way Rick Singer got lost. Rick never saw himself as a failure, and was aggressive when it came to winning. Cheryl did mention that she would like to ask her friend why, but somewhat believes Rick's role in the scandal is due to Singer always wanting more. Singer was a coach until he was fired because of anger issues and refused to change his tactics even after being asked to do so by parents and the administration department. Jeff, a former football player for Singer stated that Singer liked to drop the F bomb, and didn't get concerned about the talks he was given by administration, which led to his termination, Jeff also recalls that Singer was only concerned with winning. David who was hired by Singer to tutor other students recalls his mother having to use her tax money to pay Singer for the consultation of helping get him into college. After Singer hired David to tutor other students, he remembers a time when a wealthy student who was not motivated was struggling and Singer encouraged David to write a paper for the student. David also recalls finding out later that Singer was charging parents $50 per hour, but was only paying David $20 per hour for his services. David says he feels that Rick Singer saw an opportunity to become wealthy, when he realized that parents were willing to pay just about anything in order to get their kids into colleges. Singer started with good intentions, he quickly saw a way to become wealthy, even if that meant becoming unethical. If I had to guess I would say that Rick Singer is remorseful because he was caught and his wealth has been jeopardized, I am basing this opinion on accounts from his childhood friend, and others who know/knew him, at this point I can only make assumptions based on their accounts. It sounds to me as though Rick Singer was obsessed with becoming wealthy. It seems as though he started out waning to help prepare students to get into colleges, but at some point realizing the amounts of money wealthy individuals were willing to pay to ensure their kids got in, greed took over and he had found his money maker that could help him reach his goal of becoming wealthy. The $25,000,000 scandal has brought Rick Singer the attention and the ego boost that his childhood friend, Cheryl says he wanted.